Sherlock Holmes (alternatively Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes) is a series of Sherlock Holmes adaptations produced by British television company BBC between 1965 and 1968.[1] This was the second screen adaption of Sherlock Holmes for BBC Television.

The hour-long pilot was aired as an episode of Detective[5][6] on 18 May[4] and was popular enough to re-air on 25 September.[4] Wilmer and Stock were secured for a twelve part black-and-white series to air the following year.

Wilmer was a lifelong fan of Doyle's stories[4] and looked forward to portraying the legendary sleuth.

The part interested me very much because I’d never really, I felt, seen it performed to its full capacity. There’s a very dark side to Holmes, and a very unpleasant side to him. And I felt that this was always skirted round which made him appear rather sort of hockey sticks and cricket bats and jolly uncles… a kind of dashing Victorian hero. He wasn’t like that at all. He was rather sardonic and arrogant, and he could be totally inconsiderate towards Watson. I tried to show both sides of his nature.[7]

Wilmer later stated that the series was riddled with incompetence[7] and the scripts often came in late.[7] He claimed that the scriptwriters ranged from "the brilliant to the absolutely deplorable."[6] Some of the scripts were so lacking in quality that Wilmer himself rewrote them[7] sometimes staying up until two o'clock in the morning rewriting.[6]

The BBC searched for a new actor to play Holmes. The first person BBC television drama chief Andrew Osborn suggested was John Neville.[8] Neville had previously assayed the role in 1965's A Study in Terror and Nigel Stock felt the film was quite good.[8] Neville had prior commitments to the Nottingham Playhouse and was unable to appear in a series at the time.

Finally, Peter Cushing was approached to take over the role of Sherlock Holmes for the 1968 series.[4][8] Having already played Holmes in the 1959 Hammer films adaptation of The Hound of the Baskervilles, Cushing was eager to play the role again. Like Wilmer, Cushing was an avid fan of Doyle[4] and looked forward to portraying the detective correctly.

What are the things that spring to mind about Sherlock Holmes? The way he keeps saying, "Elementary, my dear Watson," and the number of times he puffs that meerschaum pipe. But they are both untrue![4]

Cushing's series featured a two-part version of The Hound of the Baskervilles giving Cushing another go round at the tale.[4] This version was the first actually filmed on Dartmoor.[4]

Unlike the Wilmer series, this one would be produced in full color.[8] Though the series was in color, there were economic cut-backs which required production to abandon plains for celebrity villains such as Peter Ustinov, George Sanders, and Orson Welles.[4][9]

However, as filming commenced Cushing found himself facing production difficulties[4] the likes of which had prompted Wilmer to forgo another round.

Wilmer later asked Cushing how he had enjoyed making the series:

...[Later] I asked him how he had enjoyed doing the Holmes series. He replied tersely to the effect that he would rather sweep Paddington Station for a living than go through the experience again. He had my sympathies![10]

Filming time was cut back.[4] Cushing stated that the hectic schedule affected his performance.

Whenever I see some of those stories they upset me terribly, because it wasn't Peter Cushing doing his best as Sherlock Holmes - it was Peter Cushing looking relieved that he had remembered what to say and said it![4]

The initial 1965 series was popular with over 11 million viewers per episode.[4] The 1968 series was even more popular upwards of 15.5 million viewers[8] and one episode topping the top 20 programs chart.[8] The West-German WDR channel remade 6 episodes in 1967 and 1968, based on the scripts of the first series.[11]

Reviewing the series for DVD Talk, Stuart Galbraith IV wrote, "To my surprise I generally preferred the Wilmer episodes to those starring Peter Cushing, even though I consider myself more a fan of Cushing while I merely admire Wilmer as an excellent actor. ... This series may seem downright prehistoric to some, but I found it to be surprisingly atmospheric, intelligent, and engaging, and Wilmer and Stock make a fine Holmes and Watson, in the top 25% certainly."[12]

Galbraith further said of the Cushing episodes, "The 1968 Sherlock Holmes television series isn't really up to the level of the best film and TV adaptations, but it's still fun to see cult character actor Peter Cushing sink his teeth into the role again, and the adaptations themselves are respectable, just not distinctive."[13]

In 1996 BBC Video released a single VHS cassette in the UK, containing The Speckled Band and The Illustrious Client.

In 2002 BBC Learning released The Hound of the Baskervilles on DVD, for sale by direct mail order in the UK only. The episodes was re-released by BBC Video for retail Region 2 sale in 2004, along with two further discs containing A Study in Scarlet and The Boscombe Valley Mystery, and The Sign of Four and The Blue Carbuncle respectively. The Region 1 release of these issues as a single box-set followed on 15 December 2009.[14] These six episodes are the only ones to survive from the Cushing series.[15]

Following the success of the Cushing release, the Region 1 Wilmer collection was released on 14 September 2010.[16] This set contains all the surviving complete episodes from the 1965 series, but not the two incomplete episodes.[17]